Where to Now
by Phiafairy
Summary: An open ended start of a beautiful pair?
1. Chapter 1

Falling wasn't so bad. It was oddly freeing when the brisk air swirled around your skin, moisture beading as you passed through clouds.

If she kept her face from the ground it was surprisingly easy to forget what could happen once it neared.

She didn't have time to dwell on that outcome. The results were inevitable she only wished it would be swift.

Falling from such a height, death would probably be instant. No pain and no dwelling on how to survive it.

No she would enjoy this fall, she would think of it as flying. She would spend the time telling herself to be free, to accept the glorious fate of how she once lived.

She wouldn't cry or reminisce, she wouldn't hope or think of what could have been. She would just be. Just be there falling and flying.

Her eyes closed softly as the tops of skyscrapers were visible in the distant. The descent would end soon and all she could do was give in.

The adrenaline had started pumping loud in her ears deafening even the harsh flaps of wind around her.

She curled her body instinctively preparing her body for the end but there was no impact, no crash of accelerated bone to earth.

Had she sunk straight into the depths of hell? Had she sprouted wings to heaven? Had the death been so instant she couldn't even recall the event?

She refused to open her eyes with fear of the outcome. But she needed to, her mind was running, what had truly happened to her.

Her eyes stuttered open to view a man with bright pink hair cradling her to his chest.

He appeared to be breathing heavily his eyes drawn in confusion and concern. His mouth was animated moving quickly.

She hadn't been able to hear his words her adrenaline still pumping in overdrive. Shaking her head she attempted to relieve the popping in her ears to hear his voice.

"Oh my god, are you okay? What were you doing? Please say something." a panicked shout increased with each syllable.

"I'm fine," she was confused how was she fine she had just fallen God knows how far.

"Am I alive? How am I fine? A drop like that even with you catching me should have killed us both!" What was he? This was impossible she had to be dead.

"Oh thank God." he sighed gripping tighter to her form. "You're alive, I made it in time."

He rushed out his words in a desperate attempt to find out what she was doing "Where did you fall from? What happened? "

She blinked rapidly at him. She was alive, maybe having no hope had been the way to go. She smiled brightly throwing her arms around his shoulders. "Thank you for saving me."

He chuckled at her "I take it you're not going to tell me what happened."

"Are you going to tell me how you were able to catch me without harming either of us?"

His mouth creased in a tight hold obviously reluctant to tell his secrets. She understood, she too was unwilling to divulge the events prior to her fall.

She beamed at him her grip tightening around his back. "Can we just stay like this and enjoy it."

He released a breath laughing heartily while placing his hand to the back of her head. "Yeah, okay."

His body slumped into hers as he slid them both to the grass below. Heads buried into collarbones in comforting bliss as they seemingly forgot how they were strangers to one another.

"Name's Natsu" he breathed

"I'm Lucy" she whispered back automatically.

Neither of them too focused on the events before or to follow this moment. They were content to stay just like this.

Strangers bonding in the light of what ifs, who cares, and where to now.


	2. Prologue: Lucy

**Trigger warning: Abuse and attempted suicide.**

 **This is Lucy's story before her fall.**

She had always hated her family they treated her as property as something to manipulate into furthering their status. She was nothing in their eyes just a means to an end, a stepping stone, a toy.

they talked to her as if she didn't matter like their words were law and she had no choice but to accept and obey, and that's exactly what she did not knowing any other way.

Her parents were rich building a profitable business from the ground up and they acted like it too, they were never humble always cocky and on a high horse.

They were gone so often speaking of her as the great prize to expand their company and name. She was too young to understand the meaning at that point but soon she would find out just what she was to them.

When she reached just the right age she began her teachings a tutor would show her how to read they would say she needed to be well read enough to impress and amaze but not enough to form her own opinions or get creative. She enjoyed reading though and would teach herself away from them becoming much better-rounded then they would ever know.

She was taught to cook, clean and respect she was taught that men were superior and had the final say and when she was older she was taught how to please them and support them.

Her parents didn't often see her but when they did they would emphasize her role and duty as their heir. They would drill into her head her purpose and why they had conceived her. She was solely there to marry into a company that could better theirs and bring further fortune and to create an heir to continue the vicious cycle.

At the age of thirteen she was paraded in front of men of many ages. Some old and widowed some young and ripe. She was told to be courteous that one day one of these men may be her husband. She found it hard to hide her disgust at the way they leered at her, an undeveloped girl, and yet she could see them lick their lips in anticipation of her growth.

Her father told her that in four years she would be engaged, five married, and hopefully in six producing a suitable heir. She would be required to attend regular functions as they scouted potential candidates her hand in high demand due to her looks.

At sixteen she had blossomed into a beautiful women shapely curves, bright blonde hair, and big piercing brown eyes. They only paid attention to her looks but beneath the surface she was sweet, loving and smart despite her upbringing.

Her father had introduced her to a man, one only a couple years older, he was handsome and seemed genuine in his manners. Her father was convinced this man being the heir to the perfect complement company to theirs, not only were they rich but they were successful and we'll known.

Soon she found herself engaged to this man he was nice enough and she was grateful that her father had chosen someone she might someday learn to love. The second he told her of the engagement she was banished from her childhood home forced to leave under the roof of the man she was betrothed to.

* * *

He had asked for dinner and she had quickly obliged cooking him her finest meal and that's when he changed showing his true colors. He berated her softly of an inadequate dish complaining of the sides and the way it was cooked. She stood up for herself stating he didn't tell her what to make and that this was a fine meal. His words became sharper his voice lifting in harsh words before sending her to her room with an, "I expect better of you tomorrow."

Things only got worse from then on, he would call her names like stupid and useless when she took too long to make his bed or clean the dishes and progressed slowly becoming more irate and calling her bitch or piece of shit when she didn't greet him coming home or offer to remove his shoes.

She had wanted to tell her parents of his attitude but they never called and when she did get the chance to see them he was a perfect gentleman treating her like a princess for a moment. She opened up to her mother during a short visit and she simply told her to suck it up that things like this were something she would have to get used to.

She knew her parents were distant and non-caring but she never believed they would leave her in the hands of someone who treated her like scum. She denied her family after that not wanting to speak to them or see them and even when the abuse escalated to physical measure she kept her mouth shut. The people she believed to be family were anything but and she no longer relied on them for anything.

He began to hurt her grabbing too tightly to her arm leaving bruises in his wake, slapping her when she wouldn't stop talking, and shoving her back when he didn't want to see her. She took to hiding in her room as often as possible but that only proved to aggravate him more demanding to have her pretty face in his view.

She spent many nights silently crying herself to sleep wondering what she ever did to deserve such a fate. His physical assaults changed abruptly as the date of their wedding neared, they were to be engaged a year and it was promised that she would stay a virgin till the wedding night. But he became impatient insisting on some sort of release to which she always declined, he would then slap her and begin groping her.

She would claw at him, tears falling from her eyes, in an attempt to remove his wondering hands. His vile voice would leak into her chilling her bones, "I shall have you one day my dear Lucy and if you continue to struggle it will only become worse for you," pinching at her breast he would let her go chuckling darkly as he wondered down the hall.

She would cry more often now that the abuse was sexual and dreaded the day they would be married she didn't want to be touched by him that way, she didn't want him to see her that way.

The only reprieve she got was when he would venture on business trips, it was a time for her to brush up on her reading and forget how her life turned to hell.

A week's time to her eighteenth birthday and the much awaited wedding she was requested to accompany him on a trip to meet some of the higher ups of his company and his colleagues. He would flaunt her beauty and her training in front of them exhibiting his impressive hold on the flawless and helpless teen.

He was sweet in front of the boss treating her to soft hand holds and opening doors but in front of his equals and subordinates he became joking sneaking touches to her and bragging of what he would soon possess fully. He would run his finger along her face sliding it between her lips as he talked to his friends of all the lewd things he had in mind and even allowed then to feel the softness her rounded chest.

Back in their hotel room she begged him not to do such things that it was humiliating and disgusting, he only laughed, "Better for you to understand your place my dear."

She didn't understand how someone could be like this and she just wanted to leave often times thinking of drastic measures. Those thoughts only increasing on their private jet home when he threw a drink at her complaints of too warm falling from his mouth she cringed pulling back.

She escaped to her cabin catching a glimpse of the emergency hatch door. Beyond that door could be salvation a chance to get away from the injustice she has unfairly been dealt. It took her all of 30 seconds to yank open the door and fly out into the air.

She could hear the faint hollers of crew members and her fiancée alike but she didn't listen that life was no longer hers. She was happy to accept the fate of this fall over anything he would have forced her to do.

Where was she headed? Death and on her own terms she couldn't think of a better out than that.


	3. Prologue: Natsu

**I am so sorry for the late update. I have been rather occupied lately and my desire to write plummeted despite how excited I was to write this one.**

 **This is Natsu's story.**

He grew up in a bustling city from a middle-class family. His mother was kind treating him like a prince and spoiling him despite the overwhelming sickness that took hold of her as long as he could remember.

His father was strict often looking at him with disdain he would later find out that his father blamed him for his mother being sick.

His mother would assure him that it wasn't his fault that she was too weak to have another child and she knew it. Waiting 11 years was far too long for a second child.

He had a hard time believing her when both his father and older brother chastised him and treated him as the problem. He spent a lot of time with his mother avoiding the glares of the two other males of the family in hopes that he would forget the plague he unconsciously set upon the home.

On the eve of his sixth birthday his mother convinced his father to take him camping, a trip just between the two. At first it was awkward little words were exchanged between them, later his father would open up apologizing for blaming him and then attempt to reestablish their broken relationship.

After the confession he and his father enjoyed their time, fishing and cooking their catches. They set up the tent together and he was told stories by the campfire. Before settling for their second night in the woods his father received a call.

The phone call progressed and he watched as his father's features morphed from calm to sadness to anger. His father closed the phone and hurriedly began packing up their gear grumbling at him to get ready to head back home.

He kept his mouth shut quickly helping to pack before settling into the passenger side of their car.

"Your mother's sickness has become worse. We need to get home and take care of her." his father looked down at him scoffing loudly before driving off.

They arrived back home to view his mother in bed she was coughing loudly and could barely move. Her small frame seemed so frail and her dark green eyes were blackened and sunken in.

She had smiled weakly at him and his father before breaking into another fit of coughs, coughs that produced bright red blood that stained the palm of her hand. She waved that hand away smiling once again at the two.

He could feel the tears drip from his eyes just as strong sobs escaped his mouth. He reached out a tentative hand to grab a hold of his mother's ankle in a futile attempt to assure she was okay.

His mother was anything but okay and he knew it, she was dying from her sickness and the time she had left was slowly dwindling. Time so short that the family found themselves saying a final goodbye just two days later.

He had been crouched on the floor crying quietly in the corner when his father came into the room, two men stood behind him. His father sent him a menacing glare as the men carried his mom away. He would spend his time at the funeral avoiding his close family in favor of wallowing in her memory.

His father fell into work more after that going on long business trips and only being home a few days a month. His older brother had started school, a prestigious science academy to suit his prodigal skills in alchemy.

His brother was his only caretaker and even he was gone a lot, cooped up in a mysterious lab under their home. He would later find out that his brother had a deep fascination with dark arts researching voodoo, spells and potions.

His brother had asked him to help him in some experiments that he was making some new concoctions and wanted to record how they made someone feel. Wanting the attention and acceptance he readily agreed not thinking of what could happen.

"Don't worry Natsu these are just for stamina I just want to see if they have any affect." He was told on their first day. His brother was to give him something to drink and record the results over the next two weeks before giving another drink and repeating the process.

At first the drinks had been fairly simple most smelled awful but tasted like nothing the after effects were minimal and his reports throughout the weeks were barely noteworthy.

The taste soon became bitter and spicy stinging his tongue with each sip. His brother would say that it was a good sign, that it meant it was working and the results would be great. He had reported to his brother that it had become hard to concentrate that his mind raced too fast for any one thought to complete.

He found it hard to sleep or learn anything new and began to work out incessantly finding that punching a bag for five hours a day was the only way to keep him grounded.

In the latter part of the second year the drinks became almost too much for him to stomach most often they would come right back up the ones that didn't caused him physical pain that seared down his throat and rested in his gut.

His brother dutifully took down every note a grin plastered on his face that only grew with each session. He became frustrated begging his brother to stop that nothing felt right anymore. His brother assured him it would stop soon, the next phase was about to begin.

Before the second phase began the brothers found out that their father had died from being overworked in an attempt to avoid his children at all cost. He became depressed his father never once truly acknowledged him after his mother's death. The pain of the blatant rejection resulted in new found strength that ripped apart a sparring mat in seconds.

His brother told him that it was a result of the drinks and his hard work outs. Egging him on to continue with what he could only describe as experimentation. The second phase was a series of injections thick liquids pushed into muscle, veins, and eventually bone.

The liquids caused his body to tingle and convulse, riding throughout his system with some kind of unknown intent. He could feel his muscles quake and solidify into hard substance rolling beneath his skin with each movement.

His blood began to boil traveling through his veins at break neck speeds and he could swear he could feel the building blocks of his red blood cells transform and rearrange.

The bones cracked less with each deliberate move the joints fusing in an uncomfortable way and if he concentrated hard enough the bones seemed to shift creating new forms.

His brother cackled loudly at each new development the series of injections over the last few years proving to be extremely successful.

"Natsu you've done so well. I'd like you to rest some and continue your strength training and conditioning. The third phase will began in a few months."

He worked hard exercising on a constant basis the drinks and injections becoming more of an obvious influence as his body surpassed what could truly be classified as human.

He developed a hobby of creating things and built tables, bookshelves, and random birdhouses in his short reprieve from his brother.

After leaving him alone for several months his brother returned a large grin edged his features as he announced the commencement of the third phase, physical experimentation.

Before he had a chance to fully question what that meant his brother had drove a knife deep into the flesh and muscle of his right arm. He howled in pain clutching at his bicep and sent an incredulous look his brother's way.

"I will now test your ability to heal," His brother stated with an excited gleam.

His brother recorded how long the wound took to heal and the amount of pain it seemed to elicit. Each day he would ask him how it felt and then measure the size of it.

As soon as each one healed his brother would either give him something to drink, inject a liquid, or spout a spell of some sort in a different language before plunging the knife into a different area to record the findings.

He lost count of how many times he had been harmed, his memory ached of each wound but oddly enough his body no longer did. The healing time sped up considerably enough so the physical scars would disappear the very same day.

He praised when his brother stopped injuring him stating his healing ability was phenomenal and that the training was no longer needed, but that led to phase 4 pain tolerance.

His brother strapped him to a chair before unleashing high numbers of electric volts watching as he writhed in pain. The volts were administered in rapid succession until he was able to speak up while being shocked.

His brother followed it up with techniques involving water, dips into icy waters, drowning to within an inch of life, and boiling water to sensitive skin. The further along the torture went the more pleased his brother appeared.

The last round of physical torment was a controlled plume of fire, his brother set it around him locking him in a warm cocoon of fresh air the fire soon became drawn to him pulling in at an alarming rate before licking his skin.

With an odd compulsion he sighed in a breath taking in a large amount of the flame, it tickled his throat playing along his insides before tipping his fingers at his will. The flames danced at his own discretion and he unconsciously sent a wave of fire towards his brother singeing off the tips of his black hair.

His brother boomed loud laughter in delight reveling in the power he bestowed upon him. He was outraged at what his brother had done the new power expanding and releasing in an untamed rhythm. He roared in frustration his muscles contracting uncomfortably. His red blood cells morphing.

He could feel his skin crackle and break making way for patterned horns, slick scales and leathery wings. He roared once more punching a flaming fist into the wall causing the stone to shatter exposing the outside. He sent one well-placed shot at his brother before unfurling his wings and taking flight.

He ran for couple of years not knowing if his brother was searching for him or not. He would not take that chance traveling all over doing odd jobs for money and disappearing without leaving much or an impression.

In order to have some kind of normalcy he built a home nestled on the edge of the forest and desert a modest home that he could come to once in a while.

He was home that day drinking coffee while staring at the sun, when he noticed an object falling and faint screaming following. He turned in that direction realizing that what he saw was a person plummeting toward the earth. Without much prompting he sprinted in that direction running as fast as his skills would allow.

He stumbled once rolling in circles and then back into a standing position to continue running, he jumped over ravines and weaved through tall grasses before pinpointing the person's trajectory and planting himself firm.

He pressed himself hard against the ground raising his arms and closing his eyes. He had to save this person he came all this way for that.

The weight hit him hard the force driving his feet deep into the ground. His arms held still and he opened his eyes, a beautiful women was cradled in his hold her eyes scrunched so hard he was afraid they'd stick like that.

He panicked shouting to see if she was okay and when her eyes opened he breathed in relief, she was safe, he made it in time.

What would he do now he didn't know but just her being safe was enough to calm his lonely heart.

 **The final Chapter and epilogue will be next.**


End file.
